Top tips for planning your dream kitchen

An ideal kitchen design has all the elements of good work flow, ample storage and good looks. Follow these tips to achieve all three.

A place where family and friends gather to share great food and create lasting memories, your kitchen is one of the most important investments you'll make in your home. How much you enjoy your kitchen is very much related to how well it's designed. If you're constantly bumping into things, spending time in there will soon become a chore. Consider these design principles to get a good work flow.

The kitchen work triangle

The work triangle is an established guideline in kitchen design. Its raison d’être is to create an easy, ergonomic flow between the three primary points in a kitchen – fridge, cooker, sink.

The ideal work triangle should:

• Have a minimum length of 1.2 metres and a maximum length of 2.7 metres for any of the sides of the triangle.
• Have a total of between four and 7.9 metres for all three sides
• Not overlap a high foot-traffic area of your home.
• Not intersect with cabinetry and appliances.
  
  

While the triangle is held as a standard for kitchen design, it won’t work for every space. The golden rule is to plan a kitchen that works best for you.

Getting the measure of your kitchen

• Draw up a plan of your kitchen area that includes all fixed features, such as doors, windows, gas, electrical and plumbing points.
• Accurate measurements are crucial. Start in a corner and work your way outwards
• No wall in the history of building is perfectly straight. So take three measurements: at wall-cabinet level, countertop level and floor level. Work with the smallest measurement.
• You will also have to take the thickness of existing tiles into account, as it could affect the overall measurement if you’re planning to replace them.

The shape of your kitchen

There are six universal kitchen layouts to consider, depending on your requirements. 

1. One-wall kitchen

When the entire kitchen is set against one wall, the triangle is replaced by a straight line. In this case, your best bet is to place the cooker in the middle of the work area, with the fridge and sink at either end.

Usually seen in small apartments, the single-walled kitchen is a very workable space. Get the look with our Colorado Oak laminate flooring or Flandes Almond wood-effect floor tiles.

A single-walled kitchen is well suited to apartments or small houses, which makes storage all the more important to prevent clutter flowing into the living areas. The easiest solution is under-the-counter cupboards, combined with tall wall-mounted cabinets. 

2. Galley kitchen

As the name suggests, the galley kitchen is inspired by the functional and efficient cooking spaces on ships, planes and trains. Essentially, a galley kitchen is a long narrow corridor with two rows of cabinets on either side. 

This style of kitchen is rather outdated because of the space constraints, however, the configuration of your home may make it your only option. Although the galley kitchen can conform to the work triangle ideal, it’s best to keep your work areas on one side of the kitchen to avoid traffic flow issues when there is more than person preparing food.

 

This is one of the most prolific layouts in terrace and semi-detached houses built in the 1980s and 1990s. The L-shaped kitchen has cabinets along two perpendicular walls. Although the L-shape offers great flexibility for where your appliances and work zones go, there is the small matter of an awkward corner where the walls meet. This can be solved with a walk-in pantry cupboard.

 

3. L-shaped kitchen

This is one of the most prolific layouts in terrace and semi-detached houses built in the 1980s and 1990s. The L-shaped kitchen has cabinets along two perpendicular walls. Although the L-shape offers great flexibility for where your appliances and work zones go, there is the small matter of an awkward corner where the walls meet. This can be solved with a walk-in pantry cupboard.

4. U-shaped kitchen

A great shape for larger family kitchens because it is easy to create an uninterrupted work flow, the U layout provides plenty of storage along the three walls. In this case you may want to go easy on the cabinetry above the countertops so the layout doesn't feel crowded. You can opt for a cooker hood with an eye-catching splashback on one wall to create a focal point.

Everything is within reach in a U-shaped kitchen. Get the look with your choice from our wide range of Metro tiles and wood flooring or wood-effect tiles.

5. Island kitchen

An island in a kitchen lends itself to open-plan living, with a natural traffic flow. It elegantly combines a large work surface, which can incorporate a hob, a prep sink and even a below-the counter drinks fridge, and seating, so your friends can sit around, quaffing wine while you conjure up a culinary masterpiece.

5. Peninsula kitchen

 

The peninsula kitchen is a smaller version of the island design, and offers many of the same features. The major difference is that the peninsula is attached to one of the walls as opposed to a freestanding unit. Therefore, the peninsula design suits a renovation where a wall has been removed to create an open-plan living arrangement.  

This peninsula kitchen is convenient U-shaped design, so everything is within reach. Our Lotus black marble-effect floor tiles paired with a splashback of Carrara Liso Matt marble-effect metro tiles create a contemporary look.